Pereira, M.T et al. Dis Model Mech 11, dmm034520 (2018)

A number of conditions like Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and irritable bowel syndrome are the result of increased intestinal permeability. Instances of the conditions are rising, and diet—food additives, in particular—is thought to be playing a role. Researchers at Binghamton University in New York recently considered the effect of several dietary additives on intestinal integrity in the fruit fly, via the “Smurf assay,” as well as in in vitro cultures.

In healthy flies, the blue dye they are fed normally remains in the gastrointestinal tract; those with ‘leaky’ guts turn blue elsewhere. In the current study, a high-sugar diet caused the greatest disruption to intestinal integrity (and the most blue flies), followed by an emulsifier and to a lesser extent, high salt, though via different disruptive mechanisms.